Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus utilizing an electro-photographic technique, such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile machine or a multifunction machine.
Description of the Related Art
In an image forming apparatus where recording materials are discharged within a body of the image forming apparatus, a stay is provided below a sheet discharge unit, so as to allow an optional unit to be arranged in a vicinity of the sheet discharge unit or to provide reinforcement to take measures against a load applied to the sheet discharge unit. On the other hand, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-195810 discloses a configuration where a heat exhaust duct discharging heat from a fixing unit of the image forming apparatus is provided below the sheet discharge unit in a vertical direction of the image forming apparatus, and a toner cartridge supplying a developer to a developing unit is provided below the sheet discharge unit.
In such a configuration, when a heat exhaust duct is arranged below the stay and a toner cartridge is arranged below the heat exhaust duct in the vertical direction, the heat of the heat exhaust duct itself may have a direct influence on the toner cartridge. In contrast, if a stay is provided between the heat exhaust duct and the toner cartridge, the heat from the heat exhaust duct is conducted to the stay before being transmitted to the toner cartridge, so that heat can be diffused effectively.